In this article, we will discuss 3 ways you can know if the Lord is leading you to speak with a Christian counselor.
And I also wanted to let you know that this article is sponsored by Faithful Counseling.
I often get request from the AGW community for counseling referrals and I’ve never known where I can send people because everyone is so spread out. But Faithful Counseling is unique because it offers you access to licensed professional Christian counselors all online.
The way it works is that you simply visit their website and then they ask you some simple questions that will help them pair you with the right counselor for you. Once you are paired, you can speak with your counselor in four different ways: video sessions, phone calls, live chat, and messaging. Every counselor at Faithful Counseling is licensed by their respective state board in the United States and has over 3,000 hours of experience. These services are offered worldwide and they have counselors who speak a variety of languages. You will be matched with a counselor in 24 hours or less. The counselors have a broad variety of specialties so it actually might be easier to find the right counselor than it would be to find one locally. It costs $260 per month which will get you four 30-minute sessions and unlimited messaging with your counselor. There’s also financial aid for those who qualify.
As you will see in the points I’m about to share, I don’t believe everyone should rush out and get a Christian counselor. But sometimes the Lord will lead us to speak to a Christian counselor. There’s been seasons in my life where I needed to talk with a Christian counselor and it really helped. So if you want to learn more about this unique resource, you can click here to visit Faithful Counseling.
1. If You Need to Talk with Someone to Overcome an Issue But You Don’t Have Anyone You Trust, This Is Often a Sign God Is Leading You to Speak with a Christian Counselor
Throughout the Bible we are encouraged as Christians to help others and seek the help of others. For example, in Galatians 6:2 it states, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
But as we all know, not everyone in our lives is equipped to offer us godly counsel. Even if someone means well and even if we know they really love us, this does not mean we should trust their counsel. For as Proverbs 12:18 explains, “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
You can have great friends and a family who really love you, but this does not always qualify people to offer you the type of counsel you need. Notice that in the life of David, he had friends but he also knew he needed other people who had special ability to offer counsel. In 1 Chronicles 27:33 it states, “Ahithophel was the king’s counselor, and Hushai the Archite was the king’s friend.” Love and friendship do not always equate to someone being able to offer helpful counsel.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes God will lead you to talk with a wise friend or mentor that has experience with what you are dealing with. Sometimes a family member can be confided in. Sometimes your pastor can offer you counsel or he can point you to someone in the church who might be able to help you. But at other times, these types of people are not available to you or you might be dealing with something that is beyond their experience and knowledge.
So in these moments where you really need to talk to someone but you don’t trust that the people you have access to will be able to help you – it’s in these moments where a reaching out to a Christian counselor could be a wise option for you.
2. If You Have Consistently Been Trying to Overcome an Issue But Nothing Seems to Be Working, This Could Be a Sign God Is Leading You to Speak with a Christian Counselor
I think it is a mistake to run to a counselor every time you have any time of problem in your life. It’s not healthy to view a Christian counselor as the main solution to every problem. Whether you speak to a counselor or not, ultimately Jesus Christ is the main solution to every problem we will experience. Without him, no amount of counsel will truly help.
It’s also wise to try to figure problems out through talking with people you know, reading related books, and of course applying God’s word because through this process of learning and trying to figure things out, you will mature and grow in powerful ways.
With all that said, there really do come points in life where you will get stuck if you just keep trying to deal with certain issues on your own. It’s wise to try to figure things out and take personal responsibility, but it’s also wise to be humble enough to know when you need to try something different. If you have prayed about it, searched the word, sought the help of people from church, but you are still really struggling with a certain issue, this could mean God is leading you to speak to a Christian counselor.
When you talk to someone with lots of experience and training in the area that you are struggling with, they may be able to offer you a perspective and knowledge that you simply could never have found without their help. Just as a medical doctor has special knowledge about your body, so too are there people with special knowledge about mental health and internal issues. Sometimes we need the help of a specialist to get us unstuck.
As Proverbs 18:15 explains, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
3. If You Know What Your Symptoms Are But You Don’t Really Know What the Root Issue Is, This Could Be a Sign The Lord Is Leading You to Speak with a Christian Counselor
It’s easy to identify the outer symptoms infecting our lives. It can be a lot harder, however, to know what the actual root issue is. Perhaps you know you are struggling with anger, but you don’t know why you are struggling with this. Perhaps you are dealing with depression but it comes and goes and you can never figure out what triggers it. Perhaps you are struggling with an addiction that you truly wish you could stop but you don’t even know why you are doing it in the first place.
The point is, symptoms should not be ignored but they also should not distract us from figuring out what the root issue is either. When we are the ones experiencing the symptoms, sometimes we are too close to the problem to accurately identity the root issue. It’s in these instances where God may be leading you to talk with a Christian counselor to help you find clarity and a greater understanding of what is really going on.
As Proverbs 20:5 states, “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
